Africa Vodou or Vodun Voodoo

I think I am involved in some Tourism made to order, faked authenticity Voodoo search.

I just finished reading more than I wanted to know about Voodoo or Vodou as is probably accurate spelling, and who maybe Marivous is closer, as it changes language also.

Togo is in a Tourism Depression; the amount of tourist may be decreasing yearly and not decreasing. Mostly likely, because of mass media knowledge of violence, reading the history is about a year-by-year account of coups being attempted. Not a stable government, held together because of business and maybe the French, again protecting business.

Whatever, I really do not care about military coups; they are highly over-rated by the TV, CNN and BBC. I have been to Iraq, East Timor, Ecuador during times of big change, or coups maybe.

TOGOVILLE VOODOO

I should go and see if the guide says, Voodoo and even clarifies, however my seven-year-old Lonely Planet West Africa makes TogoVille sound like the center of Voodoo for the planet, I suspect it may be in Haiti, however not important.

I walked through the Wednesday market, and not one person approached me to buy or try to sell me Fetishes of Vodou items. No made to order, lets sell the White Man, mystical crap that he will pay too much for… no sellers, so me no looker.

Culture is obvious, I can search out Vodou, however to me a Vodou culture would be obvious, culture is woven and overlaid on the day-to-day living habits.

No White Man here, no market, and no buyers, the need to pack up the toys to sell disappears. However, still no attempts to get me to buy Voodoo, accurately said as Vodou. Although no one here seems to know the word, I will push harder, but this is sinful thing in the eyes of the Christian here, I am not sure a good thing to bring up. Like saying to my mother,- Have you go some Devil worshipping things on you? -

There is and extremely beautiful Catholic Church here, I think it is Catholic, whatever; it is Christian, with an open air tiered or sloping towards the water pew or area for sermons. The setting is placid, snuggled in tall trees, with plenty of shade, clean, and clean, more clean than normal for Africa, although Africa is a very clean place compared to many Asian or Indian places; I suppose South and Central America also. The reason is not high concentrations of people, and not much normal garbage. The foods are not in paper or plastic as much as other places.

I do not know, I think they are cleaner people. India is the dirtiest by far, champion, maybe Chinese next, hard to do this down the line, because of specific areas of world are very dirty.

The encyclopedia says the old Kingdom of Dahomey, a local something in Nigeria, Benin and Togo.

This map is maybe a hint of where I can move to find the more Indigenous religions, or more or less superstitious religions of the primitive tribal and more gathering of food people. Exploration and learning about these cultures is time-consuming and in tribal areas maybe superstitiously dangerous. A superstitious people kill you because of the spread of gossip, to travel in superstitious area a person must respect, listen and obey their instincts. If they think people are talking about them, they probably are…

Note, I walk anywhere on the planet and people talk about me, however the operative thing are they talking in a gossip, negative way?

I went out last night, walked about 200 meters in the pitch dark, some boys said,- Money, give me money. -

The West Africa motto or slogan on life…

They said it in a very negative way and threatening, I needed to look directly at them and I said,- Money -

I did the Alpha Male strut and looked hard in the very dark direction of five male idiots. There were two whiskey doors, or whiskey quick shops, they mix alcohol in something while you wait. Sometimes with a funnel, very fun to watch and the quick way to get drunk.

They could see I was looking at them by the way my head was pointed, they needed stood down. Africa has many bullies.

Berlin Germany in the park had some bullies, police stop bullies, gangs are bullies.

A bully or gang is unpredictable; groups of people drinking are extremely dangerous, although the guidebook tells you how to find danger on a city-by-city basis. Religions are bullies; many types of social classes can be dangerous.

BULLY:aggressive person: an aggressive person who intimidates or mistreats weaker people (2)The definition says the solution, you must be stronger, not always possible, if not stronger the ability to recognize bullies and not enter into their temptation zone.

Americans are uniquely unprepared to deal with bullies as this type of person does not have or is not celebrated. British people on the other hand can and understand bullies; they take the P I S S, a very bully thing to do, designed to make a weak person look stupid.

All of Europe is in a class system mode that Americas are almost oblivious to and in denial, who wants to say or think, your society and culture is behind ours.

France is in an extreme class mode here in West Africa and annoyingly hard for me to watch, see and feel. Class systems though can keep bullies down, as the bully’s desire is to be upper class, and the upper class is the bully in some cultures.

Example, I can say, come here to a girl in Togo and she will come to me, I have never done it, I am positive it will work. Thomas my German friend was explaining how or why the other night. Of course the uglier you are, the less it will work.

Nevertheless, money will make them hop also, or greed.

Vodou of the search for Voodoo, seems like a too tourist thing for me, I will though go into primitive places to see what culture, religions and customs really exist, and not faked authenticity sold to tourist. Africa Vodou or Vodun Voodoo